This invention relates to dental cleaning implements, especially in particular to toothbrushes having a resiliently flexible region in their structure, particularly having such a structure situated in their handle or between their head and their handle.
Toothbrushes generally comprise a head carrying a dental cleaning tool, normally a cluster of bristles in a toothbrush, and a grip handle, arranged along a longitudinal head-handle axis. Often there is a thinned neck region between the head and the part of the handle which is gripped by the user during use. It is known to incorporate a resiliently flexible region in the handle or between the head and the handle to help to relieve excessive pressure from being applied to the teeth or other mouth tissues of the user during implementing. Examples of such resiliently flexible regions in toothbrushes are disclosed in EP 0 0336 641A and DE 39 234 95.
Different users of toothbrushes may prefer or need toothbrushes having different degrees of resilient flexibility of such a region. At present the user has no option except to purchase a complete different implement having a selected degree of flexibility of such a region. WO 95/10959 discloses a toothbrush having a modification of a two-part slideable finger grip to reinforce and alter the flexibility of the handle section as required by the user. U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,732 discloses a toothbrush having a flexible part between its head and handle in the form of two parallel flexible springs between which a rigid piston may be driven by the user to adjust the flexibility.